


Pokemon X: Death by Nuzlocke

by NebelPanda



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions, キミガシネ | Kimi ga Shine | Your Turn To Die (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Pokemon Nuzlocke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28587720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NebelPanda/pseuds/NebelPanda
Summary: My very first Nuzlocke and I decided to do a brutal one themed around the game "Your Turn To Die - Death Game by Majority". I logged the major points of the adventure on a Doc, so even though it's been months I can still look back at what happened. The story was just too interesting, so I wanted to do some art, but I felt like certain parts would be easier to depict written than drawn. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to make this a full on comic. But really this is just an excuse to write angst.
Kudos: 3





	Pokemon X: Death by Nuzlocke

I went to sleep just like on any other ordinary April day, except for the fact that it was 10 PM. Very early for a night owl like me. Soon after- or did it take longer? Who can tell with sleep? Either way in my dream I saw a man in a lab coat with… a Pokeball? It was Professor Sycamore. He showed off a Skiddo, a wallpaper of multiple Pokemon and gave his familiar speech.  
 _‘How is it that a dream feels like this? Plays out like this?’ _I wondered. It was surreal in its reality.__

__I saw Serena, moving her big anime eyes, a frown instead of her usual pixelated smile. But I saw this in the mirror. I saw through her eyes. I was in her skin. The Calem being reflected in the other mirror? He only existed in there, never an option for me. The paintings of different versions of me? Of no consequence. Serena - I - stayed as fair skinned and blond as the default. I went through a door of light, unsure if I was resisting or walking in myself, and the light soon turned back into darkness._ _

__

__I felt something ram into me with a tweet. A sharp… beak? Right into my side. The bed felt so comfortable, yet so foreign. No sign of my hugging pillow Koshiro, who also happens to be a panda. Brownie the big polar teddy bear was not holding up my heavy head. The big window giving off a twilight hue was out of place. It wasn’t right… This wasn’t my house._ _

__I sat up rapidly, seeing this larger than average bird flying down the stairs. I remembered the dream. My groggy mind put the pieces together, slowly but surely. I looked around this room I’ve seen countless times before, but this time not through a screen. I had bangs and long hair now and was kind of glad not being in the boy’s body- But there were more pressing matters than the possibility of gender dysphoria._ _

__And just as the pile of questions in my head was about to burst, a cell phone on the nightstand - my cell phone in fact - went off. I didn’t even need to pick up the call. The voice emanating from the call felt out of this- or any world. It was like my own, but also like everyone else’s somehow. Like a choir of everyone I knew converging into a singular entity, yet it’s words were clear._ _

__

__“Welcome to the Kalos Region, Nebel! You have come here to complete your very own and very first Pokemon Nuzlocke challenge! It is titled: ‘Pokemon X: Death by Nuzlocke’. Because this won’t be your ordinary Nuzlocke. It is themed after this really fun game you know and love: Your Turn To Die! If you want to have the rules read out loud to you, just ask! You’ll be able to read up on them on your own anytime you want on this smartphone! You don’t even have to worry about the battery!”_ _

__I tried getting out of the call, resisting this voice’s strange power, but it didn’t work. So I managed to open my mouth instead. “Who are you?! How did you do this?! What-”_ _

__“Thank you for choosing the vocalized rules setting.” It said in a mockingly robotic voice, then returned to its previous creepy intonation. “You’ll recognize these previously agreed upon nuzlocke rules.”_ _

___‘Agreed upon? I didn’t agree to any of this... Did I?’ _I had believed my mind to be cleared up, but I was mistaken. I was still confused, adjusting to this new reality. I started pacing up and down the room anxiously.__ _ _

____“If a Pokemon faints in battle, it will expire, as in die. You’ll have to return it to the Pokemon Center’s PC as soon as possible. Everyone receives a nickname, preferably relating to the Discord server that you’re allowed to contact from this side and that will be your ally on this journey.”_ _ _ _

____“Rewritten?” I frantically tried to get to the lock screen. “110?! 911?!” There was no emergency call button. In fact most of the phone’s functions seemed to have been locked away. And through all my helpless struggling the rules just kept on coming in._ _ _ _

____“You can only catch the first wild Pokemon you encounter in any area. If you’ve caught it before, you can try getting a new Pokemon 2 more times only. Two more times as in your third encounter with the same known Pokemon you must catch or fail to get a new Pokemon in this area. But you can catch shiny Pokemon at your leisure shall you encounter one and trading and gift Pokemon are fair game as well. _And _before we get to the fun part: Your Pokemon shouldn’t exceed the next Gym leader’s ace. Not much of a rule, but please do keep it in mind for the challenge.”___ _ _ _

______“WHY WOULD I EVEN FOLLOW YOUR STUPID RULES?!” I cried out._ _ _ _ _ _

______The voice that had seemingly ignored me this whole time responded, growing more menacing. “Because this is a game. You can’t break the rules wired into the world’s code. You’re no good at glitches either. So just enjoy the game and let me finish giving you the rules.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______I was flabbergasted. Stunned into silence, it continued with increasingly horrifying laws._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Now about those special rules. The Pokemon Gyms and League have gone through a bit of a change, for now they are run by ASUNARO. Before every gym leader match, 3 of your party members will be randomly assigned with the roles Keymaster, Sage and Sacrifice. Everyone else is a Commoner with no special rules. Before every gym leader match - call it a Main Game - randomly assign 3 of your party members with the roles Keymaster, Sage and Sacrifice. Everyone else is a commoner with no special rules._ _ _ _ _ _

______The Keymaster wields the key to victory! If they die, so does everyone else. If the Keymaster falls in battle, the Nuzlocke is lost. The only way they can die and not result in a loss is if killed by the Sacrifice's death.  
The Sage knows who the Keymaster is, meaning they can protect them and the whole team by taking the hit. If the Keymaster is in danger, you have to switch into the Sage.  
The Sacrifice is a role of opposites. If it falls in battle, only the Sacrifice and the Pokemon you switch in afterwards ultimately survive. The rest of the team, not counting Pokemon on the PC, are considered expired. If the Sacrifice survives, they die after the Main Game is over.  
After the Main Game, two Pokemon must expire. One of them is the Sacrifice. The other you have to choose if there were no other casualties. Include your Discord friends in a majority vote to decide! If you can't agree which Pokemon shall expire after the Main Game or there is a tie, the Sage will be chosen._ _ _ _ _ _

______But don’t you fret! One upside of this is that you have the opportunity to recover one of your fallen Pokemon as a doll after beating the Main Game following their death. This only works once though, so choose wisely!  
Oh! One more thing to motivate you. You’ll only be able to leave this world if you defeat the champion. Until then you’re stuck in here!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Having a hard time grasping the actuality of the situation, I managed to croak out faintly. “And if I fail?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’ll be stuck for a while until the world is shut down. So you’ll have time to despair and give your final goodbyes before everything is erased.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“So if I die in the game I die for real…?” I would’ve made fun of this trope if I weren’t trapped in it for real._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Precisely! Besides Discord you’ll have access to internet information like Bisafans or Pokewiki and others for entertainment. But don’t worry about contacting someone for rescue, _no one will be able to save you but yourself. _In fact, your ability to externalize your fourth wall knowledge will be disabled. Your Adventure Log will automatically be updated, but you can also write in it yourself.___ _ _ _ _ _

________That is everything you needed to know up front, but you’ll always be able to consult your phone for questions. You’ll be under constant watch and notified whenever a rule break does occur. Now stop moping, get dressed and begin your new exciting adventure!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The voice ceased contact. I was alone in a bright room with bright town music reverberating softly in my mind._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________‘This is a Pokemon Game. A game I’ve played loads of times before. Heck, it’s one of the easiest main line games! I’ve beaten the Champ before. I can do it again! Losing Pokemon every Gym battle though… This will be emotionally devastating. It already is. I can actually die here. How long till I get back? Did real life time stop or is it moving parallel? Food, sleep, toiletry? How far did they push the realism? How do I know they won’t throw me a total curveball and change the game against the rules to make me die? They have all the power here… Will they actually send me back if I win?’ _I didn’t even want to ask the voice. It was freaky and I didn’t trust it. _‘I might have to though…’ ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The thoughts just kept piling up and escalating. I couldn’t even vent about this in the server, just that I was nervous and scared about the Nuzlocke. A regular ol’ Nuzlocke. Just a game. I was definitely still at home in my comfy little room staring at a screen. Maybe I needed to convince myself of this fact to stay sane. To have the power to move forward, down the stairs to my fake mother and my fake neighbours and rivals._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It really took me a long while to compose myself, definitely shed some tears. I reached into the dresser and before I knew it, I - looking like Serena - had gotten ready for the day. For all these long, harrowing days and nights to come._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________I took my first step down the stairs..._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
